Once again, Elvis Andrus goes into the season with an opt out at the end of the year, meaning, once again, he could be playing his last season in a Rangers uniform.

Difference is, with Beltre retiring, now Andrus is the de facto captain. He is the revered veteran. The clubhouse leader. The elder statesman. Believe it or not, Elvis Andrus is now 30-years old.

We will be on constant “is Elvis leaving?” watch in 2019. He does seem to love it here. But with his comedy partner Adrian Beltre gone, will he continue to love it here? And will he still love it here at the end of what could easily be a 100-loss season?

We shall see.

Here are the available free agent shortstops, none of them on the Rangers radar. After Machado, the list gets thinner than Motel 6 toilet paper.

Manny Machado
Freddy Galvis
Jody Mercer
Jose Iglesias
Adeiny Hechavarria

Alcides Escobar
Jose Reyes
Andrew Romine
Pedro Florimon
Ramon Torres

Cliff Pennington
Andres Blanco